By STEVE BRAWNER
At least six Arkansas communities have stopped using Flock Safety public surveillance and license plate reader cameras since July 24.
But will a backlash ever occur regarding modern life’s other, much bigger privacy encroachments?
Flock Safety operates a nationwide network of cameras that record passing car images and license plate numbers. Law enforcement agencies in 49 states can search the company’s data. The company says that in the month of July it detected more than 1,000 missing people and more than 20,000 stolen cars.
But some communities have stopped using the technology over privacy concerns. The Washington Post identified nearly 50 examples of police officers being charged or accused of using the technology inappropriately, including for tracking romantic partners or family members.
Searcy last week became the sixth Arkansas city to stop using the technology in less than a month. As reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Police Chief Steve Hernandez said most officers weren’t using the product, and Flock Safety had not yet installed all the cameras it was supposed to install. He said the agency’s decision wasn’t based on negative online comments.
Five other Arkansas cities also have ended their relationships with Flock Safety. Those are Pea Ridge, Cabot, Mayflower, Centerton and Greers Ferry. Meanwhile, other cities continue to use the technology, including Little Rock, North Little Rock, Bentonville, Benton and Conway.
It’s obvious that Flock Safety has a branding problem. These kinds of things can seriously damage a company.
It announced Aug. 13 that it was making some changes. It is narrowing its default data retention window from 30 days to seven. Cities will be able to choose what type of offenses other cities’ agencies can access. The company is requiring law enforcement customers to adopt a recently released feature that detects suspicious activity by their personnel. Flock Safety will suspend access until an administrator reviews the case.
The backlash against the cameras is an understandable reaction in a country whose citizens value freedom and privacy.
But compared to everything else that’s happening these days, license plate readers are a drop in the bucket. While cities are cancelling their contracts with Flock Safety, Americans are still voluntarily using cell phones that record their locations, relationships, and online activities – myself included.
It’s hard to appreciate how thoroughly Americans have opened their lives up to government authorities and big corporations, all while using technologies largely constructed in foreign factories.
And it’s not just phones. Our Facebook posts, credit cards, Amazon Alexa speakers – it’s all revealing the details of our personal lives to very rich and powerful entities. Flock Safety at least reflects the age-old tension between freedom and security. The same can’t always be said for all of these modern conveniences and entertainment tools.
One reason we’ve all accepted this technology is that there doesn’t seem to have been a major downside so far. There has not been a widespread chilling of First Amendment rights in the United States. But we’ve certainly made it easier for government authorities and the billionaires to do that chilling in the future.
Meanwhile, we’re in the middle of an artificial intelligence revolution where even the technology’s creators can’t anticipate where this will go.
AI is capable of analyzing enormous amounts of data quickly, with wondrous possibilities in medicine and scientific research. It’s possible that in the coming years it will free humans from a lot of mental and physical grunt work. There’s lot of promise here.
But data can be analyzed to create great harm very quickly when used by the wrong people. Furthermore, grunt work is a necessary part of being human. What happens when machines do it for us? What jobs will go away? (And do they include mine?)
Humans have long created tools that were stronger and faster than we are. Computers are smarter in some ways, and AI definitely is. But we have always been in charge of the information. That may not always be the case soon.
The backlash against Flock Safety is understandable but somewhat misplaced. The bigger picture is that we are compromising our privacy in much deeper and lasting ways using technology that can be used against us.
In the meantime, I’ve been trying to build up my garden a little bit. It seems like it might be a good idea to take a step back in time that way.
I really start to get into it sometimes, until I get distracted by Facebook.
Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 24 news outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.